Masquerade

by Jessica Burkhart

  Except, as I blogged last time, we actually DID win a class. The show closed with a blue and a red ribbon for Whisper and me.

  I’m staring at them now, and I still can’t believe they’re mine. Sorry for rambling! Geeze! All I really wanted to say was that I’m still thinking about the show and how grateful I am to have a wonderful, willing, smart, beautiful horse like Whisper. I cannot wait for Mr. C to announce our next competition.

  So, the NEW thing: I just got back to my room after my first run with D. (I could do a row of smiley faces! LOL!)

  The weather was perfect, and it was foggy, which made it even better—like D and I were the only students on campus. We talked while we warmed up, and I learned more abt D. I can’t learn enough. I always want to know more and more and more!

  I was nervous that he wouldn’t want to run with me again. But at the end, I actually asked if he wanted to run with me again. And not just, “Let’s run again sometime,” but “Let’s run three or four mornings a week.” He said YES! Ooh la la!

  Yes! KK’s out of the shower, and now I get to tell her all about my morning.

  Posted by Lauren Towers

  After I’d told Khloe all about my morning run, I also told her a secret that I’d been keeping to myself.

  “Omigod,” Khloe said. “Please, please don’t tell me that you really hate TV and you’ve pretended this whole time!”

  I shook my head, pulling a plastic box from the top of my closet. “Every October, I usually wear a Halloween-themed shirt every day. Every. Day.”

  Khloe looked into the box. “This isn’t at all what I was afraid you’d say.”

  “It’s almost mid-October, and I haven’t followed my tradition. I was afraid Canterwood wasn’t the place to wear a shirt with a witch one day and a ghost the next. But I really, really miss my shirts and wanted your opinion.”

  “Laur! I wish you’d come to me sooner. No one cares if you wear a Halloween shirt during Christmas. Wear whatever you want—whatever makes you happy!” Khloe looked through the shirts. “From what I’ve seen, you’ve got an awesome collection. Start wearing them!”

  I slid into a gray tee with a scary black tree faded in the background. Now it was starting to feel like Halloween around here.

  SPACED ON STUDYING

  I DASHED TO THE STABLE ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON. Giant, dark clouds gathered overhead and I clutched my umbrella—I’d learned my lesson from last time. I hoped it waited to storm until I was back in my room. I’d pull the curtains aside and curl up on my bed with a book or magazine. Truly a très parfait way to end the week.

  Now I couldn’t wait for today’s lesson. Mr. Conner had told us yesterday that we’d be working inside on dressage. I’d be the first one in the arena—I’d been waiting for this all day.

  “Laur!”

  I stopped, mid-jog, and turned.

  Khloe hurried up the sidewalk toward me. She was dressed in casual Friday clothes—a new policy that Mr. Conner had extended for the advanced team. Khloe had paired a graphic T-shirt—off-white with an orange can of Slice and ragged hems—with fawn breeches and paddock boots. A small blue tote bag with a purple sequin heart was over her arm.

  “Thanks for waiting,” she said.

  “Um, of course. I would have waited for you in our room if you’d told me you would only be a few minutes. And totally crushing on your bag, FYI.”

  Khloe tugged an orange elastic off her wrist, braiding her hair as we walked. “Thanks! It was in my mail pile—Mom sent it. Anyway, I thought I’d stay a while to study, but I decided to bring my book and study in Ever’s stall.”

  I held up a hand. “Stop. Right. There. Khloe Kinsella, what could possibly be important enough to study on a Friday before lessons? Science? History?”

  Khloe rolled her eyes. “Puh-lease, LT. As if I’d stay inside, skipping extra time with my lovely, amaze friends and dream horse to study for school.”

  She opened her bag and dug out a book, handing it to me. “I forgot to study my horse manual. Oops. At least I’ve got until the end of your lesson to read.”

  Panic raced through me, and my palms instantly started sweating.

  I hadn’t studied for today.

  I visualized my horse manual and knew exactly where it was—on the top shelf of my desk, with a green sticky note at the beginning of the pages that I needed to read. Last night I’d looked through the chapter, and it had been something I knew very little about—different types of worms and parasites. The color photo of some kind of creepy-crawly bug had made me shudder and shut the book, vowing to study before I went to sleep.

  This afternoon, when I’d gone back to my room to change, I’d breezed right by the book. If I’d seen the red cover, it would have reminded me that I’d spent all of the previous night on schoolwork. No equine study.

  “You okay?” Khloe asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Halloween’s still a couple of weeks away . . . .”

  “I wish I’d seen a ghost,” I said. “Instead I’m about to see Mr. Conner turned Incredible Hulk.”

  Khloe’s light brown brows arched. “What? Why?”

  I handed Khloe back her book. “I didn’t study my horse manual. At all. Totally spaced.”

  Khloe put her book away, linking her arm through mine as we walked. “There’s no guarantee that you’ll have a quiz today. It’s Friday, so maybe Mr. Conner will save it for Monday.”

  “I hate gambling like that,” I said. “Plus, skipping reading keeps putting me more and more behind.” I groaned, slapping a palm to my forehead. “I’m so dumb. I can’t believe I did that.”

  “Laur, don’t say that about yourself.” Khloe’s tone was low and serious. “I’m not cool with you putting yourself down in front of me. What if you find someone who’s already studied and brought their book? Borrow the book, study until you have to be in the arena for warm-up.”

  “I have to groom and tack up,” I said.

  “Let me take care of Whisper. I’ll have her ready and waiting for you.”

  I squeezed Khloe’s arm. “You are the best. I don’t even know what to say—thank you. But I can’t let you do that. You already planned to spend your time studying—you forgot too. I can’t let you get in trouble because I messed up.”

  Khloe waved her free hand. “I’ll study during your lesson after I groom and tack up. Plenty of time.”

  I smiled. “It’s not and you know it. I’m just going to have to risk it and see if he quizzes us or not. But I really, really can’t thank you enough for your offer.”

  “Okay,” Khloe said. “I understand and I won’t keep asking. But I will be crossing my fingers that Mr. C doesn’t quiz your class. Especially since it’s a dressage lesson and it’s all you’ve been talking about since last night.”

  We reached the stable and stepped inside though the giant front doors, which had been slid open. The back door was open too, and a gentle breeze blew through the stable. The horses seemed to enjoy the fresh air—most of them had their heads poked over stall doors. Some slept while others watched the frenzy of riders around them.

  “Good luck reading, and I’ll see you later,” I said, letting go of Khloe’s arm.

  “Okay. I’ll be channeling the part of me that I’m, like, certain has ESP and will be telling Mr. Conner, ‘Don’t quiz the seventh-grade intermediate team today,’ until your lesson.”

  I smiled like only Khloe could make me smile. “Thanks, KK.”

  “If it works, you have to agree to be interviewed by the magazines and newspapers that will want a witness of my skill. ’Kay?”

  “I’ll give a dozen interviews for you,” I promised. “Maybe I’ll become your publicity person or your manager.”

  Khloe tapped her temple. “Now you’re thinking!”

  Laughing, we waved and split. I took a left, heading down the side aisle to the tack room, and Khloe went straight down the main aisle toward Ever’s stall.

  As I gathered Whisper’s tack, I pictured Khloe sitting i
n Ever’s stall and channeling her ESP. The image made me feel a little better. Not that I thought she’d be able to reach Mr. Conner, but Khlo was thinking about me.

  I rushed through Whisper’s grooming and tacking up. I wanted to get in the arena and be with my friends. Being alone was driving me crazy. Plus, I wanted time to pass faster so I’d just know.

  “Sorry! Oh, I’m so sorry!” I apologized to Whisper when she squealed and whipped her tail from side to side. I’d tightened her girth too fast and had pinched her skin. “Sweetie, I am so, so sorry. You didn’t deserve that.” I loosened her girth and carefully retightened it.

  I moved up to Whisper’s cheek and stroked it. She kept her head high, ears back a little. I kept petting her. “You know I’d never mean to hurt you, right? I love you so much, and I shouldn’t have been rushing. Not when it comes to stuff related to you. I can rush my stuff—not yours.”

  Whisper’s head lowered, slowly, until her muzzle rested in my hand. I scratched between her ears and she closed her eyes, letting my fingers get any itches.

  “Forgive me?” I asked.

  Whisper opened her eyes, her curly, long lashes winking at me. Her beautiful, liquid brown eyes were full of expression—I truly believed I could understand some of her thoughts from looking into her eyes.

  Her ears swiveled forward, and she bumped my arm with her muzzle. Her whiskers tickled me.

  I grinned. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I put my arms around her neck, and she let me rest on her. Hugging her and inhaling her sweet scent of fresh hay and cinnamon treats calmed my anxiety. My thudding heartbeat slowed, and I took a deep breath.

  “Hopefully, we’ll doing a twenty-meter circle in a little while,” I said. “Otherwise . . .” I shook my head. I didn’t want to think of the alternative.

  I picked up Whisper’s bridle from across the stall door and slid the reins over her head. Whisper took the bit and looked like a stone statue as I buckled the straps and put on my helmet.

  I grasped the reins under her chin, taking a firm hold. Whisper had been better about not rushing out of the stall, and Mike and Doug had reported the same, and I wanted to keep it that way. I left the stall first, and Whisper followed at an easy walk. Once we were in the aisle, I let her walk beside me to the indoor arena.

  We were the first ones here. Part of the arena had dressage markers ready for our class. Seeing the markers made me shiver with excitement. I had to do dressage today! I mounted and let Whisper walk on a loose rein to the arena wall. Even if we do have a quiz, I’ve been reading about horses forever, I reminded myself. Maybe I won’t get every question right, but I surely know enough to pass the quiz.

  Soon Lexa, Drew, Cole, and Clare joined me for our warm-up. I trotted Whisper up to Lexa and Clare, who were talking.

  “ . . . definitely a party must,” Clare said to Lexa, then looked over and saw me.

  “Lauren! Sneak!” Clare said, shaking her head.

  I made a who me I’m innocent face. “I didn’t know you two were talking about a party. What party?”

  Lexa mock-scowled at me. “I think you know quite enough.” She looked at Clare. “We have to tighten security. LT’s getting too much info.”

  “Agreed. No more breaches,” Clare said.

  “I wasn’t coming over to bribe you two about my party details,” I said. “I just wanted to say hi.”

  “Uh-huh,” Lexa said, looking at me sideways.

  The three of us burst into giggles.

  “No, really,” I said. “Do you guys think we’ll have a quiz today?”

  “I don’t know,” Clare said. “We didn’t have one yesterday, so maybe.”

  That made my heart sink a little.

  “But it’s also Friday,” Lexa said, patting Honor’s neck. “Mr. Conner might just let us go straight to lessons.”

  “You study?” Clare asked.

  I shook my head, my hands starting to sweat again. Whisper’s reins were slippery in my hands.

  “I skimmed it,” Lexa said. “Clare?”

  “I didn’t have much homework yesterday, so I did read the chapter. I can give you the highlights—maybe that’ll help, Laur,” Clare said.

  “Please! I owe you. Big-time.”

  Clare put her reins in one hand and let Fuego walk at a relaxed pace. “Okay, so the chapter was all about worms and parasites. Mostly about how to identify a worm if found in a horse’s manure, when to consider whether or not your horse might have a parasite, and the signs of the most common ones.” She took a breath. “Um, also how horses contract these and how to cure and prevent the most common types.”

  “What’s a common worm?” I asked.

  “Flatworm,” Clare said. “If a horse has them, they’re found in manure. They look like—”

  “Please bring your horses to the center.” Mr. Conner’s voice stopped Clare midsentence.

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  I shook my head. “No way. Thank you for offering and trying. I really appreciate it.”

  Lexa, Clare, and I rode our horses over to Mr. Conner. We stopped them in front of him. Cole and Drew joined at the end of our line. I scanned Mr. Conner—trying to find some indication about whether or not we’d be quizzed. His clipboard didn’t look like it had any extra papers, and he didn’t have any folders. Nothing suggested a quiz.

  “I hope you’ve all had a good Friday,” Mr. Conner said. “As you know, today we’ll be working on dressage. Markers have been erected, and you’ll be taking turns executing different moves.”

  Yes! No quiz! I let out the breath I’d been holding since I’d met up with Khloe. She was going to freak when I told her and attribute this to her ESP.

  “Before we begin dressage, I need you to dismount and come take this from me,” Mr. Conner said. I watched and as if in slow motion, he held up five papers with pens clipped to them. “This is a short quiz covering last night’s chapter,” he continued. “If you read the material, you should have no problem.”

  And if you didn’t, you are going to flunk.

  We dismounted, and my knees felt wobbly when I landed on the ground. Mr. Conner handed each of us the quiz and pen.

  “Spread out a little and answer the questions,” Mr. Conner said. “You’ve got ten minutes.”

  I felt hot as I led Whisper over to a space along the arena wall. I put the paper on the ledge and looped Whisper’s reins over my arm.

  Five questions.

  Fill in the blank.

  No true or false.

  No shade the correct bubble.

  With only five questions, there was room to miss only one question.

  Stop and focus! I scribbled my name at the top and looked at the first question.

  1. List at least two types of worms that are common in horses.

  Flatworms and

  I stopped. I knew this. It didn’t come from the book. One of my stable horses had been in infected with . . . think! Think!

  Got it!

  I added roundworms in the first blank. Question one down.

  2. Describe two ways horses can become infected with flatworms.

  My pen hovered.

  And hovered.

  Move on to the next question!

  But I didn’t know the answer to number three.

  Or four.

  Or five.

  Sweat trickled down my back as I stared at the questions as if they’d somehow change to questions that I could answer.

  “Time!” Mr. Conner called. “Please bring me your quizzes.”

  I shuffled my feet in the dirt, knowing my face had to be eight different shades of red, and handed my paper to Mr. Conner. I turned away fast before I could see the look on his face. We lined up, standing beside our horses, and looked at him.

  “Please give me a few moments to look through these, dismiss anyone who did not pass, and then, for those who did, we’ll go over the answers and I’ll answer any questions you may have.”

  I kept my head down, not able to l
ook at Mr. Conner or anyone else. My stomach was upset, and it seemed as though it was taking hours for Mr. Conner to go through our papers.

  “All right,” Mr. Conner said. “Thank you all for completing the quizzes.”

  I braced myself.

  “Lauren, please leave the arena,” Mr. Conner said. “I’ll see you at class on Monday.”

  I was the only one.

  I nodded, unable to speak.

  Embarrassment burned my body as I left the lineup and walked Whisper past Mr. Conner. I kept my eyes down, feeling like everyone was staring at my back. The arena exit was impossibly far away, but the second Whisper and I were through, I burst into tears.

  TODAY KEEPS GETTING BETTER. NOT!

  RAIN SLAMMED AGAINST MY DORM ROOM windows. I’d made it back to my room before the downpour after I’d untacked Whisper and left the stable. I was on my stomach on my bed, reading all of the pages I’d missed in my horse manual.

  The bathroom door opened, and steam followed Khloe out. A brown towel was wrapped around her hair, and she’d pulled on blue-and-green-striped cotton pants and a matching T-shirt. Khloe gave me a tiny smile, her eyes falling on my book. She’d just gotten back from her lesson and hopped in the shower.

  “How’s the reading?” Khloe asked.

  I slid in my bookmark and closed the book. “I caught up on all of the past chapters and took notes. Just got to today’s chapter, but I’m going to break and read it later this weekend.”

  “Good plan. You read a lot, too.” Khloe pulled the towel turban off her head and shook out her blond hair. She sprayed Bumble and bumble Prep through her locks and used a wide-toothed comb to detangle any knots.

  “I wouldn’t have had a lot of reading if I’d kept up with it in the first place,” I said. “Today was totally my fault, and I learned my lesson—believe me.”

  I got up, grabbed my assignment calendar off my desk, and walked over to Khloe, who sat cross-legged on her bed.

  “See?” I pointed to each day’s assignment block for the next week. “I’ve got it on my calendar to read for riding. If it’s in here, it’s as good as done.”